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RedRider

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Everything posted by RedRider

  1. RedRider
    Jeff, It was a pleasure. I learned a lot about how this bike is wired. For a synopsis of the problem and the solution - J_berg was installing a Wolo horn and something happened such that the bike would start whenever the key was turned to 'run' (if the kill switch was 'on'). We started at the back and tested the starter control relay. It was good. Then we tested the starter relay, it was good. Then took apart the start button. It appeared the spring had fallen over and was making permanent contact. Thought we had it solved. Nope. Then we started tracing the wires from the starter button. It seemed to have a permanent connection to ground. Took the tank off and removed the wiring cover bracket. Checked the main harness connector next to the ignition. The blue/white wire was fine from the connector to the starter control relay. Took off the fairing front. Started disconnecting main harness connectors until we traced it between the main lower harness connector and the throttle wiring connector. OK, we have it surrounded. Started taking off the electrical tape on the main harness and found.... the blue/white wire goes TWO places!!! Traced the other location to the main radio control box. There is apparently an input from the starter switch that turns the radio sound off while starting the bike. Sure enough, the connecting wire to the radio control box was grounded withing the control box. We disconnected the radio control box and everything worked (except the radio, of course). It appears during some earlier modifications, something with the wiring got crossed, grounded, or something and caused a malfunction within the radio control box. Put everything back together and it was still working. No parts were left over. Oh yeah, we also installed the horn and it is working. Jeff now has a running bike without any radio. Will likely need a replacement radio control - or an Ipod with ear buds . It was a great day to wrench and help someone get back on the road. Good times were eventually had by all. Jeff was getting a little frustrated and worried (so was I, however, tried not to show it). Anytime you need help, let me know. I'll let you know how the venison turns out. Wife already had some things thawed out for dinner. Will likely fire the steaks next weekend. RR
  2. RedRider
    Not exactly sure on the first gen, but on the 2nd Gen hooking up an aux tank is really easy. Instead of a QD, you can put a 'T' in the fuel line where the line bends 90 degrees right after the petcock (about 3" from the petcock). Put a cap on the unused leg of the 'T' when the aux tank is not in use. If you are using the aux tank, just hard plumb it to the 'T'. Just takes a couple of minutes and is really easy. Just make sure to turn your petcock to 'off' before you remove the plug (don't ask me how I know) and have a small glass jar to catch the drippings. The Tourtank works really well. Make sure to get one with a vent tube and a grounding lug. The grounding lug must be attached to the bike somewhere. The vent tube needs a hose attached that will allow overflow to reach the ground (not in front of the rear tire). IBR rules require each of these. If you are running in the IBR, you will need a puke tank (fuel overflow catch tank). I just vent my aux tank to ground and have had no difficulty in rallys that run the Team Strange rules. Check with the rally bastard when you sign up (Are you running one of Michael Hickman's rallys?). The Roadsofa should do well. I forgot about that one. A sheepskin often helps with the airflow to keep the boys a little more comfortable. I might also suggest some LD Comfort riding shorts/pants. No seams and they wick away moisture. You can wash them in a sink and they will be dry in a couple of hours. Great product if you are wearing them for 24-48 hours straight. (No financial interest, just a happy customer - and Mario is a good friend of the LD community). You may have a lot of this already dealt with. Just tossing out some things as I think of them. Feel free to ask any questions. I am really just a noob in the LD rallys (run 3 of them), but am working on getting into more as the years progress. Keep your eyes open for BL6 next year. Butt Lite XI will be run by Team Strange and should be a 5 or 6 day rally. It usually starts/ends in the upper midwest (Minneapolis area). FYI - My understanding is the Gen1 is what Micheal Kneebone started LD riding with. It has a long pedigree in the LD world. Several were run in the '95, '97, and '99 IBR. Also, Peter Behm, the winner of this year's IBR, rides a 2000 RSV in rallys if his wife is accompanying him. He won the IBR riding an FJR. Good guy and great rider. Team Strange World Domination! RR
  3. RedRider
    Bill, I disagree with the original premise. Once you retire, you have more time to fix things and can EXPAND the stable. Need a big cruiser for long trips, a dual sport for riding forest roads and going camping, a fun small bike for bounding to the hardware store, an older bike with a hack to take the grandkids/dog for a ride, and a couple of old beaters to get you into the shop and out from under your wife's feet. As you know so well, we here on VR are experts at spending OPM (other people's money). Our service is now complete on this request. Enjoy your retirement. RR
  4. RedRider
    Instead of throwing them out, put them in the bottom of one of your saddle bags. They will be your emergency pads (in case you need them out on the road). RR
  5. RedRider
    Are you doing these mods for just long distance travelling, or are you intending to do LD Rallying? You have a nice start for either/both. One of the items often installed by the LD crown is TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System). OEM seat? Pads or a custom seat will help. Not sure if Russell Day Long makes a seat for a Gen1, but they likely do. If not, check with Rick Mayer Seats. They are a big bill (approx $500), but really make a difference if you intend to do more than 500 miles per day (or 1000 miles per day in rally mode). Really like the shelf. Nicely done. RR
  6. RedRider
    Would probably be easier to fabricate a small trailer. RR
  7. RedRider
    Let us know if you are stopping in Wisconsin after your museum tour. Would love to come up/over/down to meet you. Suspect we could gather a few others from the area to welcome you in the true Wisconsin fashion (cheap beer, deep fried cheese curds, brats, and kraut). RR
  8. RedRider
    I saw a 'turntable for my bike' and first thought - there is someone in this world that the cassette is too advanced for. Upon further reveiw, nice work. RR
  9. RedRider
    This is an extreme solution, but a rider made it back from Mexico to Michagan this way. Buy a car battery and a couple of heavy cables and a charger. The car battery will keep the bike running for a standard riding day. Recharge overnight. Place the battery in the trunk and run the heavy cables down to the battery box and tie into current cabling. Bypass current bike battery. Certainly not an elegant solution, but should get you moving. Good luck. RR
  10. RedRider
    I had over 60k. All were within tolerance, but had moved to the tight end. Adjustments were made. I don't recommend this practice. RR
  11. RedRider
    If that is you in the BSC thread on another forum, it would be highly inappropriate here. But -- great stories. RR
  12. RedRider
    Riding around Lake Superior we had just re-entered the US into Minnesota. Was wearing a half helmet with Oakley sunglasses. A bee wedged behind my ear, trapped between the helmet, the sunglasses arm, and my ear. It nailed me. Freaked out my wife as I was slapping my ear and emergency braking to get off the road. Glad there wasn't much traffic. It really hurt for a couple of days. Fullface helmet all the time now. Just have to remember to keep the face shield down. RR
  13. RedRider
    You can find all you want to know in the Alaska regional forum on ADVrider.com http://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=68 Have a great time and let us know how it works out. RR
  14. RedRider
    My bike with a tank - aux gas tank, that is. RR
  15. RedRider
    Bob, Good luck on the operating slab. You realize with the right tools we would have taken a shot at fixing this Saturday. (Mechanics picks and a gasket scrapper would have you walking around like Dan.) Likely wouldn't have worked, but you wouldn't slip anymore. Keep us updated. RR
  16. RedRider
    Just realized I had not 'officialy' RSVP'd. In. RR
  17. RedRider
    We would hate to see that too. RR
  18. RedRider
    I'll take over the clutch work then. Sorry to miss you this time. RR
  19. RedRider
    Found it. Turns out it was on a BMW LT. http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/newsandupdates/122_0808_bmw_k1200_lt_motorcycle_rider/index.html RR
  20. RedRider
    More than a legend. He did it on a wingabago pulling a trailer of fuel and the mentioned pee tube. I can find the details at home (on the road now). One of the LD gods ran from Prudoe Bay to Key West in a few days. Broke the previous record by over a day. Will find details this evening. My best is Fond du Lac, WI to San Antonio in 24 hours. About 1350 miles. Hope to do a BBG later this year. Bun Burner Gold - 1500 mi in 24 hrs. RR
  21. RedRider
    100% all the time. Full face helmet, jacket, gloves, riding pants (although sometimes just jeans if around town), boots. ATGATT RR
  22. RedRider
    If you are packing on the pillion seat and have no prospects of picking up a passenger , you can take the passenger backrest off. There are 4 holes to plug with some short screws, rubber coated washers, and nylon retaining nut. This will allow you to open the trunk with stuff in the seat. I learned to do this when riding with my aux fuel tank. Great trip and comparison report. In April I ran thru the Seiras and the Rockies up to 11,150 feet (IIRC - at Eisenhower Tunnel). Some loss of power, but not bad. Wouldn't have been able to keep up with FI though. RR
  23. RedRider
    anti-seize works great. Wear gloves when you put it on 'cause it's hard to get off your hands. RR
  24. RedRider
    Just a thought (not knowing how long you have owned your Venture) -- If you had been riding a V-Twin prior to the Venture, you may just be changing gears too soon and bogging the engine. This engine likes to run at high RPMS. Don't change to 5th gear until 60 or 65 MPH (some will say 70). You can get 90+MPH in 3rd. RR
  25. RedRider
    Welcome to the asylum. Let's see where to start...hmmmm.... 1) Stebel horn instead of the stock beeper. Carbon One makes a great bracket that allows mounting in the same location as stock. (throttle side below the seat). 2) If you do your own wrenching (and with your collection of antiques, I'm sure you do) and use a jack instead of a lift bed, get the Carbon One lift adapter. This is money you will never regret spending. Oh, and get the one with legs. 3) Go to the local Honda car dealer and get a tube of Honda Moly60 grease. You will likely need to grease the rear splines and pins. Might need to lube the drive shaft splines too. Get one of the local VR guys to stop by and they can help the first time. There are some tricks to doing this that make it easy once you see it done. 4) Yup, as Ruffy said, get the engine guard braces. Your new bike will likely take a nap at some point and these compensate for some weak braces - it will save your lower plastics. 5) If you want to add a tach, search the classifieds for the gauge set. They install where the cassette deck is. (Unless you are overly fond of your Captain and Teneel cassettes). 6) Kuryakyn longhorns work well for the highway pegs. 7) Upgrade the stock headlight to at least the Sylvania Silverstar Ultra. Available everywhere - standard hi/low H4 IIRC. 8) If you like to do high mileage days, Buddy Rich does a seat modification that helps the tailbone. There are also several aftermarket seats available. 9) EBD HH brake pads!!! Check your rear pads. If the previous owner was a heavy rear brake user, they are likely tuckered out. Easy to change. They will also get rid of the squeak in the front brakes. 10) Wagner grill - do a search. Color coded radiator grill. There are also chrome ones available. 11) Tire upgrade from the stock Brickstones to the Avon Venoms or Dunlop Elite3. Stay away from the Dunlop D404s even though they are shown as a stock fitment in the Owner's Manual. They will not last over about 5000 miles. 12) Ride..Ride..Ride There is, of course, lots more we can suggest. Our imagination and inspiration is only limited by your wallet. Again, welcome. RR
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